Smithy

Chickpea haters, look away now. The rest of you can take a look at this recipe for Chickpea Winter Salad, from the Larchmont Buzz (little newspaper for an area near Los Angeles). Then take a look at my result. The ingredients are canned, drained chickpeas; chopped parsley, red onion, olives, sundried tomatoes, garlic and marinated artichoke hearts. The author notes that it's a forgiving recipe: adjust at will, add or subtract ingredients. (I just realized that I forgot the garlic!) The dressing is 1:1 lemon juice and olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. I think I overdid the red onion. It's already pretty strong as I eat the first bowlful, and I doubt it will mellow with time. Still, this is good. I can imagine adding chunks of meat (especially salami) or more vegetables. It's a nice counterpart to a delightful Antipasti Salad that I make in warm weather when I remember it. 🙄

Airtight, dry container. I can't think why it should need to be kept cold, as long as it can't interact with liquid.

Sounds like you've solved the problem! Congratulations!

With apologies to the fine dinners already populating this new topic, I'll give everyone a laugh. I hope. I mentioned here that a neighbor had shot a bear and given me a packet of the ground meat, and asked advice about how to cook it. @YvetteMT was good enough to note here that it's probably quite mild in flavor unless it's been living on fish, and suggested a delicate hand in seasoning it. I looked at the eG Cook-Off #75: Meatballs topic and got some ideas for the panade. I also ran across this comment that northern US bear meat must be thoroughly cooked due to the presence of Trichinella. Hmm. Meatballs or hamburger? I really wanted to taste the bear itself. I really wanted to make sure it was cooked thoroughly. I got out my instant-read thermometer. Flat battery! Got out the other. Readied myself. What you see below is the sole record of last night's experiment. I made a few meatballs with a simple panade of bread I'm trying to use up and 1% milk left over from a baking project. I made a simple burger. I washed everything thoroughly, pondering the fact that we don't worry about trichinosis in this country from pork any more, and here I was fussing over it from wild game! I kept poking my Thermoworks into the meatballs and burger patty. Was 150F going to be enough? USDA doesn't specify bear meat, but for other forms of game they went with 160F. It isn't as though it's all going to be held at temp for a long time, as in the sous vide discussion I linked to before. 160F it is, at the interior. It was a little more appetizing looking when browned, but I can't say I enjoyed it. No particular flavor that I could tell. A bit on the dry side, as you might imagine when it's been cooked to that temperature. The leftovers, and the uncooked meat, are all going into a pasta sauce. And you know what? If this is the worst dinner I produce in 2025, I'll have gotten the kitchen failures out of the way early!

Ooh, they provide a recipe for a Chocolate Yule Log! I've saved that one. Maybe next year. I don't see any place to order a kit like you received, but I think you wrote above that you had to go pick it up. That means my bank account is safe...for now.... 🙂

A neighbor down the road invited me to a NYE bonfire at his place a couple of days ago, so I made no particular dinner plans. He was going to be serving chicken chili. I was going to unload a bunch of my late husband's beer. (I have nothing against beer in general, but I despise this particular stuff and have been looking for someone who'd like it.) At the last moment, my neighbor sent out a note to his guests that he'd fallen and was in the ER with a damaged knee. No bonfire. No chili. Still got that beer! So, without photos I can tell you that I did this, for the same reason, with a grass-fed ribeye steak: I also cooked Melissa Clark's Cauliflower Shawarma with Spicy Tahini. (That link should be to an unlocked recipe. Let me know if it isn't.) The steak had been coated in coarse salt left over from a wonderful jar of capers that I finally used up. I got it right this time: brown outside, nearly red inside. The cauliflower was successful, as usual. In case you're wondering, the neighbor came home with a leg brace later that evening. Happy Anniversary, Shelby! Happy New Year, everyone!

I've been microwaving on 40% power for maybe a minute -- enough to melt the little pats of butter I use to gild the lily. One of my panettone boxes says to heat it at 300F, but I think that's for an entire loaf to be cooked and consumed at once.

It's been a while since I posted about this roll, but all this time the roll has been sitting unmolested (and frequently forgotten) in my bread box. Today I remembered to check it, for the first time since at least Thanksgiving. Sometime in the interim it's gone hard. Looks the same, but I'm pretty sure a good squeeze will turn it to powder. If I remember, I'm going to pitch it out into the woods on the stroke of midnight tomorrow. Out with the old, in with the new!

They've arrived! My panettoni from @Alleguede arrived a couple of days ago, and I broke into them today. Look at the loft on these! At the left, the triple chocolate panettone; at the right, a traditional version. In this collage it looks significantly shorter because of my camera angle. It's only slightly shorter. (The camera angle in the photo above shows that more clearly.) They're both impressively tall! Here are the ingredients: I cut open both bags, with every intention of trying them side by side. I cut into the chocolate version first. The cross-section shows how neatly it split down the middle and shows the profuse air pockets. At the bottom of this collage is some of the coating, which flakes off and is delicious on its own. Then I had a slice for breakfast. Very rich, very sweet, very airy. Absolutely delicious...and much too much for me to consider trying the other right now. I have to go out and walk. I'm so pleased I bought these panettoni from Goûter patisserie! But I'll have to share them around. That isn't all bad. My neighbors will love me for it. Edited to add: each pannetone arrived in a heat-sealed plastic bag. A second plastic bag, and twist tie, was included in each box so they can be stored tightly again. That is a very nice touch.

I hope it is something silly like their getting ready for an upgrade rather than going out of business. Is it significant that I got an email asking for a review of my A4 just a couple of days ago? That may have been a robot email. I still haven't heard whether or when the other pans will become available.

Got home from a walk yesterday morning to find a FedEx box on my doorstep. When I opened it, I saw this! It's from family friends -- that is, our parents were good friends, and we all traveled and camped together, and the children (that is, my generation) bought our ranch when the time came for my parents to sell. We used to see each other every year, but have missed in the past few years. This package is quite unexpected, and delightful. Look at the contents! There are pears under the paper in the lower left corner. The aroma from the open box is wonderful!

Honkman, that does look good, and it brings up memories. A lifetime ago I lived with a New Bedford man. When we visited his hometown and we could find the ingredients, we'd pick up linguica and kale, and make kale soup. Apparently it was a favorite of the Portuguese fishermen there. We both quite liked it. That was before kale became really hip, really popular, then overexposed and unpopular in some quarters. I can't remember now whether it was the kale or the linguica that couldn't be found where we lived. I'd try your version of that combination any day!

Whee! @rotuts, you've pulled the trigger on two new cool toys, with supplies, at once! I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the GE Profile Indoor Smoker as well as that A4 box. I'll be hanging onto my wallet, too. 😉

I've asked twice. So far, no response.

Thanks for this link. There's a lot of fine writing in it, as I'd expect from The Atlantic, but this did make me blink, and then laugh: I've never had panettone until this month. The idea of the stuff always seemed suspicious to me: way too close to the nasty fruitcakes to which I was exposed subjected, during my hapless growing-up years. (Most fruitcakes are definite regifting candidates, if you have friends you don't want to keep.) So I ignored panettones until this year, when this discussion popped up and I ordered one of those high-end, highly-recommended delicacies. Luxury? You bet. Delicious? Yep. And today, my two panettones from @Alleguede arrived! I'm waiting until tomorrow to start opening and testing, but I have high hopes. I think I'll stay away from the mass-produced stuff, thankyewverymuch. Don't want to find out just how bad it can be. Heck, I can prove that in my own kitchen.

I thought I recognized Chocolate Seduction! I have, or at least used to have, that same Consumer Guide booklet. I'll have to look for it. Thanks for the reminder!

I decided to try using the A4 box with the grill pan as a twofer, something Anna N (rest her soul) had suggested. I needed a fairly quick and light dinner. These days, that often means a grilled sandwich. I also needed vegetables of some sort, and there's a bag of corn in the freezer that I'm trying to work my way through. At the top of this collage: the beginning. I put the A4 box control on High, let it preheat for a bit, then loaded the corn (with butter) at one end of the grill pan. After the corn and butter started to sizzle, I put the sandwich on the other end. (I took temperatures using my IR thermometer, but forgot to write them down. Sorry. It was hot.) At the bottom of the collage (so, look up) you can see that the corn is beginning to brown and that I should have flipped the sandwich sooner! Dinner: This comes of not paying enough attention to when it's time to flip the sandwich. Note the difference between its two sides: That same thing happens to me when I'm using a skillet atop a stove. It isn't the fault of the A4 Box; it's Operator Error. But, to answer a question from @Maison Rustique a while ago, I think I'll stick to the panini press for my grilled sandwiches. Then the sandwich is heated, more or less evenly, at top and bottom.

My two are on the way!

I really must try cooking souffles! They're on my cooking "bucket list" and I think that's a rather low bar. Even though I haven't cooked them. Thanks for all those photos. I'm glad you both began to feel well enough to wander and eat out.

Yes indeed! I probably won't be baking much, if at all, this season -- but I hope to get back into the swing of things in the future. In the meantime, it's lovely to drool and dream. 🙂 Edited to add: and I do especially love walnuts in baked goods, especially at this time of year.

I've shared much of my first panettone around, and still have a little left for breakfast slices when the fit takes me. Two more are on their way!

I'm not sure the lid has enough thermal mass to keep the contents warm for very long, but it depends on what constitutes "warm" for the contents and "cool" for the weather. Up in this neck of the Midwest, some days haven't cleared 11F, but I have trouble (at this advanced age) imagining eating outdoors for that! If you just mean carrying the entire assembly to the car for a trip to a friend's house, it might hold the heat well enough. Give us a more definite scenario, and maybe someone can test it.

Sorry, I missed this question until now. I think that's what you'd have to do. I'd put it on the "Medium" mark and then, if temperature were critical, measure the temperature. Contact thermometer or IR gun. Adjust the dial accordingly. If/when I get back to playing with it, I'll see what I can figure out. If @Pankaj is still paying attention to this topic, maybe he can answer the question.

Here's my effort at a Cuban Sandwich, following this link for the Original Cuban Sandwich. Well, following the recipe to the degree that ingredients would allow. I don't think this was Cuban bread. I'm pretty sure my ham and pork slices were thicker than intended, but they were my home-cooked pork and ham, so the best I could do! Before pressing: And after: It's pretty good. It's huge. I've eaten about half. I think the rest will have to be breakfast or lunch tomorrow.

I used my A4 tonight to try out a recipe I've been anxious to try: Marinated Gigante Beans, from Heartbeet Kitchen. My best friend recommended it and I thought it looked pretty good. As always, I had to make minor adjustments (didn't have shallots, my red peppers already cooked) but the A4 performed beautifully. Gently warm olive oil.... Add garlic and chopped olives and a touch of salt (there were supposed to be shallots before this step)... Then, in my version, add the already-cooked butter beans, warm them; add lemon zest, lemon juice and parsley. Serve. Looks nice, doesn't it? And I've no complaints about the pan's performance. Unfortunately, the cooked beans I've had in the freezer are unaccountably sweet. If they're butter beans, they've been cooked in a sweetener. I NEVER cook beans in sugar. I don't know where these came from! So...score 1 for the A4 Box, hold judgment on the recipe, but this particular dish is a bust. I hate sweet beans!